There is a curious contradiction in Washington State politics. For years, many of the loudest political voices in Seattle, King County, and across Washington have blamed Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington, D.C., for nearly every problem facing the country. Yet when it comes to the problems in their own communities, there seems to be considerably less enthusiasm for holding local leadership accountable.
Perhaps it's time for a little political honesty.
Seattle has not had a Republican mayor since J.D. (Dorm) Braman left office in 1969. King County's last Republican County Executive, John Spellman, left office in 1981. Washington State's last Republican governor, John Spellman, left office in 1985.
For decades, Democrats have held the dominant position in Washington's state government and in the political leadership of the Seattle and King County region.
That is a substantial record of political responsibility.
If residents are frustrated with homelessness, public safety, housing affordability, transportation problems, taxes, deteriorating public spaces, or the cost of living, they deserve to ask some basic questions:
- What have our local elected officials done to address these problems?
- Which policies have worked, and which have failed?
- How much taxpayer money has been spent, and what measurable results have residents received?
- Why should voters continue accepting the same explanations when the same political leadership has had years, sometimes decades, to produce better outcomes?
These are fair questions regardless of political affiliation.
